FONTLOG
Abyssinica SIL font family
========================


This file provides detailed information on the Abyssinica SIL font.
This information should be distributed along with the Abyssinica SIL font and
any derivative works.


Basic Font Information
----------------------

Abyssinica SIL has a single face - regular. 

The goal for this product was to provide a single Unicode-based font 
that would contain a comprehensive inventory of glyphs needed for almost any
Ethiopic-based writing system. In addition, there is provision for other 
Latin characters and symbols. This font makes use of state-of-the-art font
technologies to support the need to position arbitrary combinations of 
*Ethiopic* base glyphs and combining marks optimally. It also supports
almost 200 kerning pairs. This version of the font also supports Stylistic
Sets and Character Variants (OpenType) or Features (Graphite) which make 
glyph alternates available for a number of Ethiopic and punctuation 
characters. See the AbyssinicaSILOpenTypeFontFeatures.pdf, 
AbyssinicaSILGraphiteFontFeatures.pdf and AbyssinicaSILTypeTunerGuide.pdf
for details on applications which support Stylistic Sets and how to access them.

One font from this typeface family is included in this release:

     * Abyssinica SIL Regular 


A Note Regarding the Open Font License and TypeTuner
----------------------------------------------------

The OFL prohibits the use of Reserved Font Names "Abyssinica" and "SIL" in
the name of any font that is derived from the Original Version of 
Abyssinica SIL. However, SIL International (the Copyright Holder) grants 
through this separate written agreement the right to use the Reserved Font
Names in any Modified Version of this font created by using TypeTuner as 
long as the feature information contained in the Original Version is used, 
unmodified, as the source for TypeTuner feature information, and 
"Abyssinica" is not the resulting font family name.

TypeTuner-produced fonts created in this manner are still bound by the
terms of the OFL. Specifically, the use of Reserved Font Names is
prohibited when making derivatives of a TypeTuner-produced font. Anyone
making a derivative of a TypeTuner font will need to find a different
name. For example a TypeTuner-produced font may be named 
"Abyssinica SIL SomeFarAwayPlace" but a derivative of that font made 
with other tools would not be allowed to use the "Abyssinica" and "SIL" 
Reserved Font Names and would have to be named something like "Nations Ethiopic".


ChangeLog
---------
(This should list both major and minor changes, most recent first.)

13 December 2013 (Lorna Priest Evans) Abyssinica SIL version 1.500
- Improved design of U+1396 and U+1399 (metrics changed for these characters)
- Added character variants
- Added variant glyphs for U+2D93..U+2D96 (for Blin)
- Added variant glyphs for U+12E0..U+12E6 and U+1335 (historical usage)
- Changed Graphite feature identifiers from integers to 4-character 
  alphanumeric tags

13 December 2010 (Lorna Priest) Abyssinica SIL version 1.200
- Updated for Unicode 6.0 (U+AB00..U+AB2F)
- Added Stylistic Sets and Graphite Features
- Removed AAT support

1 June 2006 (Jonathan Kew)
- AAT source added

25 May 2006 (SIL NRSI team)  Abyssinica SIL version 1.0
- First version released under the SIL Open Font License


Information for Contributors
----------------------------

The release of Abyssinica SIL version 1.0 under the OFL license provides a
means for people to contribute to the project. For information on what
you're allowed to change or modify, consult the OFL and OFL-FAQ. The OFL-FAQ
also gives a very general rationale regarding why you would want to
contribute to the project.

Anyone can make their own modified version of Abyssinica SIL (using a different
name), but SIL International will continue to maintain and develop the
canonical version of the Abyssinica SIL font. As the package maintainer, we
warmly welcome contributions. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Format: We are open to contributions in various formats, but if you want to
maximise the chances of us including your work, please make it available to
us (via email or a URL) as either a FontLab database (preferred) or a
PostScript Type 1 (or OT-CFF) font.

Source files: We're including the FontLab database used in
developing the font. The font, however, was not solely built from
this FontLab database, so a simple "Generate Font" will not give you an
identical result. The database is provided not as canonical source but
as an aid to anyone who might find it useful to have access to it. For those
who may find them useful, we are also providing the Graphite GDL file
(ETKernComb.gdl), VOLT project files (Abyssinica_SIL.vtp, AboveMarks.vtg, 
Kern.vtl, Mark.vtl) and an AAT perl script (abyssinica-aat.pl - this is run with 
the .ttf and .xml files as input, and writes the actual table source, then runs one 
of Apple's font tools to compile the tables and add them to the .ttf. (So it can  
only be run on a Mac, with the Apple tools installed.)).
 
Copyright attribution: If you submit something for inclusion in the main
Abyssinica SIL fonts, we will ask you to affirm that it is your original work,
and ask you to assign the copyright of your work to SIL International. This
is to ensure that future releases can be made under improved versions of the
OFL without needing to track you down for further permission. This follows
the same principle used by the FSF. Keep in mind that we are a
not-for-profit organization committed to free/libre and open source
software, and that any contributions incorporated in the fonts will always
be available under the OFL or a similar license.

Quality: Because we want to be able to guarantee a high level of quality for
the primary Abyssinica SIL font, we will review submissions carefully. Please
don't be discouraged if we do not include a submission for this reason, or
ask you to make specific revisions.

Types of contributions: If you wish to make a contribution - a set of
additional glyphs, scripts, code, etc. - please contact us before you do any
work to see if it is a contribution we currently need. Every addition adds
to the complexity of the project and needs to be carefully planned. This
also avoids two people working on the same type of addition at the same time.

When submissions will be included: We do not have a current timetable for
when an updated font will be released. 


Acknowledgements
----------------
(Here is where contributors can be acknowledged. If you make modifications
be sure to add your name (N), email (E), web-address (W) and description
(D). This list is sorted by last name in alphabetical order.)

N: Walt Agee, Victor Gaultney, Lorna Evans / Daniel Yacob, Kjell Magne Yri
E: fonts@sil.org
W: http://scripts.sil.org/
D: SIL designers and font engineers / non-SIL script experts

The Abyssinica SIL project is maintained by SIL International.

For more information please visit the Abyssinica SIL page on SIL International's
Computers and Writing systems website:
http://scripts.sil.org/AbyssinicaSIL

Or send an email to <fonts AT sil DOT org>
